Method and Apparatus for Operating an Open API Network Having a Proxy

ABSTRACT

A telecommunication system, method, apparatus, and computer readable media that implements an open application program interface (API) system in which open API servers pass and receive API commands to applications through a novel proxy. The proxy assists implementing various management functions, such as assigning open API servers to application and monitoring the overall system, and service contract control, all beneficially in a transparent manner. The proxy enables the telecommunication system to handle geographically diverse applications and open API servers. All API command can, but need not, pass through the proxy.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/764,754, filed on Jan. 26, 2004, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR OPERATING AN OPEN API NETWORK HAVING A PROXY, which application isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to telecommunicationnetworks. More specifically embodiments of the present invention relateto telecommunication networks that support open API resources.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART

Telecommunication network operators are often reluctant to open theirnetworks to new companies that offer communication-based applications.Their reluctance is at least somewhat justified in that networkoperators risk cannibalizing their own applications, particularly ifprice becomes the major difference between their applications and thoseoffered by new companies. In fact, telecommunication network operatorsrisk becoming mere ‘transporters of bits’ if they cannot compete withapplications offered by new companies having low overhead costs.

Additionally, if telecommunication network operators open their networksto new applications and companies, network operators facing losingcontrol of their networks by having to support network demands driven byapplications written and maintained by 3rd parties, such as serviceproviders or software vendors.

While the reluctance to open their networks may be justified, iftelecommunication network operators do not do so they risk losinglucrative markets that new companies and applications might create.Since most new companies operate outside of the traditionaltelecommunication network boundaries, new applications may createentirely new services that bring in customers that normally would notuse the network. Additionally, government mandated forces that seek toincrease telecom market competition can force network operators to opentheir networks.

In one scenario, transactions between a network and applications arebeneficially based on a set of interfaces and data types that formApplication Programming Interfaces (APIs). If those APIs arestandardized and widely available for use, such APIs are referred to asopen APIs. Open APIs are typically established by software organizationsthat both carefully define the APIs and promulgate their use. Many setsof open APIs exist, for example the Parlay/OSA APIs, which wereoriginally defined within the Parlay group and standardized in thecontext of 3GPP and ETSI. The Parlay/OSA APIs (where OSA stands for OpenService Architecture) form a set of nine orthogonal Service CapabilityFunctions (SCFs), each of which address a different telecom area: callcontrol, user interaction, mobility, terminal capabilities, data sessioncontrol, generic messaging, connectivity management,presence/availability, and charging.

Thus, a prior art API-based system includes a set of open APIs, a set ofusers that send and receive information via servers, a telecommunicationnetwork that transports the information, and 3rd party-ownedapplications that receive information through the open APIs, runs anapplication based on those APIs, and sends responding information backto the network through the open APIs.

While useful, prior art API based systems are subject to significantlimitations. First, in prior art API-based systems there is a one-to-onerelationship between open API servers and applications. To overcome thislimitation, prior art API based systems have included a Registration andDiscovery entity that is used by the Open API servers to announcethemselves and used by the applications to discover what APIs areavailable. When there are multiple Registration and Discovery entities,a fundamental problem is what registration and discovery entity an OpenAPI server should use. To avoid that problem an Open API server couldannounce itself to all of the available Registration and Discoveryentities. But, that creates a problem since to assign an open API serverto multiple registration and discovery entities, the configuration ofthe overall system must be known, and that is difficult to determine.

Another problem in prior art API based systems is after an applicationdiscovers what open API server to use for its services, thatrelationship is static. While the initial open API server might havebeen beneficial at a certain moment in time, a subsequent occurrence,such as an Open API server failure, could create huge problems. In thatcase, the application providing a certain service could no longer beused without a recovery session that was initiated by the application.Yet another problem in prior art open API systems is the difficulty ofenforcing Service Level Agreements.

In view of the foregoing (and other) limitations, a new open API-basedsystem has been proposed. That system includes open applications andopen API servers, but the telecommunications network inserts a proxydevice between the open applications and the open API servers. Thatproxy can handle start-up to avoid overlap, determine which open APIserver (or servers) will handle a particular API event or methodinvocation, balance communication loads between the various openapplications and open API servers, and dispatch events between the openapplications and open API servers.

While the proxy is a promising addition to open API-based systems, theproposed proxy fails to address other foreseeable problems in successfulsystems. Therefore, a proxy that addresses other problems in openAPI-based system would be beneficial. Also beneficial would be atelecommunication network having a proxy that addresses other problemsof open API-based system. In addition, a method of operating a proxythat addresses other problems of open API-based system would bebeneficial. A computer readable media that stores a computer programthat operates a proxy that addresses other problems of open API-basedsystem would also be beneficial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages heretofore associated with the prior art are addressedby a novel method for operating a telecommunication network in a waythat addresses limitations of open API-based systems.

The disadvantages heretofore associated with the prior art are addressedby a novel proxy, and a telecommunication network having such a proxy,that addresses limitations of open API-based systems.

The disadvantages heretofore associated with the prior art are addressedby a computer readable media that stores a computer program thatoperates a proxy, and thus a telecommunication network, such thatlimitations of open API-based systems are addressed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an overview of an API-based system that is in accord withthe principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a general view of a proxy;

FIG. 3A illustrates a system for implementing service contract control;

FIG. 3B illustrates a flow diagram of implementing service contractcontrol;

FIG. 4A illustrates a geographically distributed open API-base system;

FIG. 4B illustrates registering open API entities;

FIG. 4C illustrates a proxy monitoring an open API system; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative API-based system that is in accordwith the principles of the present invention;

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to novel open API-based methods,apparatus, computer readable media, and systems that incorporate a proxybetween applications and open API servers. Open API systems in accordwith the present invention can handle two types of information flows,those that originate in the network and are forwarded to the applicationand those that flows from the applications to the network. Although bothflows are communicated through the APIs, in what follows the first typeis referred as an event and the second is referred to a methodinvocation.

FIG. 1 illustrates an open API-based system 100 that is in accord withthe principles of the present invention. That system 100 includesapplications 102 and open API servers 104 that pass information via openApplication Programming Interfaces. The application 102 can be aprogram(s), enterprise application type systems, or other resource thatoperates using APIs accessing network resources. The open API servers104 are communication nodes connected to any of a wide range of userdevices, such as computers 106, hand sets 108, or telephone systems 110.Consequently, user devices should be understood as being any device thatseeks to run an application 102. Services offered by an application 102are implemented when one of the user devices contacts an open API server104 that then passes information to the application 102 in a mannerdescribed subsequently.

As shown, between the open API servers 104 and the applications 102 is aproxy 700. The open API servers 104 and the proxy 700 could be part of acommonly owned network 103. Furthermore, while the applications 102 areshown at an application level, it is possible that one or moreapplications 102 are also owned or operated by the owner of the network103. As is subsequently described in more detail, the proxy 700transparently handles communications between the open API servers 104and the applications 102. To that end, the applications 102 initiallyauthenticate and subsequently register their presence with the proxy700, which is accomplished by the applications 102 contacting aregistration and discovery device 114 that receives—or can determinefrom an authentication mechanism—the registration information (such asIP addresses, start conditions, geographic locations, allowable APIs,etc) required by the proxy 700 to identify, accept, and use theapplication 102.

Registration of applications 102 primarily takes place when theapplications 102 announce their start conditions. After an application102 is authenticated, it can discover, select, and start using theservices offered by the open API servers 104. By registration, the proxy700 determines the capabilities of all open API servers 104 andsubsequently combines those capabilities to form a superset ofcapabilities. The proxy 700 subsequently registers the supersetcapabilities with the registration and discovery device 114, making itpossible for the registration and discovery device 114 to advertise amore generic set of services to authenticated applications 102 that arediscovering services. This also offers the open API servers 104 theability to register only at a single location, and also offers a centralplace for monitoring and maintaining the open API network, which isdescribed in more detail subsequently.

FIG. 2 illustrates a high level block diagram of an embodiment of aproxy 700. The proxy 700 comprises a processor 710 as well as a computermemory 720 for storing control programs 725 and data structures 727. Theprocessor 710 cooperates with conventional support circuitry 730 such aspower supplies, clock circuits, cache memory and the like, as well ascircuits that assist in executing the software routines stored in thememory 720. As such, it is contemplated that some of the process stepsdiscussed herein as software processes may be implemented withinhardware, for example, as circuitry that co-operates with the processor710 to perform various steps. The proxy 700 also contains input-outputcircuitry 740 that forms an interface to the overall telecommunicationnetwork, the applications 102, and the open API servers 104.

Although the proxy 700 is depicted as a general purpose computer that isprogrammed to perform various control functions in accordance with thepresent invention, the invention can be implemented in hardware, forexample, as an application specified integrated circuit (ASIC). As such,the process steps described herein are intended to be broadlyinterpreted as being equivalently performed by software, hardware, or acombination thereof. Furthermore, if implemented in software orfirmware, the proxy 700 includes a computer readable media 750 thatstores information that can be run and/or accessed by the processor 710.Whether implemented in hardware or in software, or in a combination ofhardware/software, the proxy 700 operates to fulfill the functionsdescribed below.

A first function fulfilled by the proxy 700 is in enforcing of servicecontracts between two or more of the open API servers 104, the users,the applications 102, and the telecommunication network operators.Examples of parameters that could be part of a service contract includethe resource usage allowed by an open API server 104, e.g., the maximumnumber of calls, the maximum number of call legs allowed per call, themaximum number of mailboxes open, billing, time limitations, and APIsthat are allowed. In some embodiments, the proxy 700 dynamicallydistributes service contracts to the open API servers 104.

FIG. 3A illustrates a system 200 for implementing service contractcontrol via the proxy 700, while FIG. 3B illustrates a flow diagram ofthe operation of the system 200. The following makes reference to bothof those figures. The system 200 includes a registration and discoverydevice 114 that operatively connects to an enterprise operator 202 andto the proxy 700 via a database 204. However, it should be understoodthat the database 204 is optional: some embodiments will not incorporatethe database 204. Referring now to FIG. 3B, a method 245 of servicecontract control starts at step 247 and proceeds at step 248 byobtaining and registering service contract control information. To doso, the enterprise operator 202 provides the terms of a service contractas a set of control parameters to the registration and discovery device114, which at step 250 stores the control parameters in the database204. Next, at step 251, the proxy 700 retrieves the control parameter,and at step 252 calculates how to assign the global contract informationas local contracts to the relevant open API severs 104 (those impactedby the terms of the service contract). Then, at step 253 the localcontracts are sent to the open API servers 104 by the proxy 700 sending,at step 254, individual open API servers 104 their implementationparameters.

After the open API servers 104 have their implementation parameters, atstep 255 a trigger may cause a local open API server 104 to determinethat its local service contract is deficient. For example, if a localopen API server 104 is restricted to 10 calls, when it is handling 8calls that open API server 104 may set a trigger to indicate that it mayneed authorization to handle more than 10 calls. In that case, at step256, the local open API server 104 sends a request to the proxy 700asking for a modification to its service contract. Meanwhile, at step257, the proxy 700 has been monitoring the open API servers 104 toidentify such requests. At step 258, after a request for a modificationhas been received, the proxy 700 at step 258 queries the relevant openAPI servers as to their current local usage. Once that usage has beendetermined, a loop is made back to step 252 for a re-calculation ofrelevant open API server's local contracts. Thus, the proxy 700 canallocate resources based on current usage while remaining within theservice contract.

It should be understood that each entity may react to service contractterms differently. For example, the service contract for the open APIserver 104 c may specify that no time critical information is to pass toor from the open API server 104 c. Consequently, the proxy 700 can giveAPIs for the other open API servers 104 a and 104 b a higher priority.

After the entities have been provided with implementation parameters, atstep 255 the various entities implement their portions of the contractterms. If the open API server 104 determines that it's local servicecontract for a particular set of applications requires an update, thisopen API server 104 can interrogate the proxy, requesting an update ofthe contract, in method 256. If the service contract for the set ofapplications stops, the method then stops at step 257. For example, whena user contacts an open API server 104, that server searches its servicecontract parameters and determines whether it can handle the particularcall or service required by the user 206. For example, if the open APIserver 104 a has a maximum number of calls, all calls in excess of thatnumber may be refused or redirected to another open API server 104.

As the open API model becomes more popular, the number of open APIentities will increase. This will introduce management and integrationproblems into the model. This presents a particular challenge since anopen API system may consist of various entities that reside in highlydiverse geographical locations. Since open API entity behavior has to bemonitored to ensure system-wide compliance, and, if needed, appropriatecorrective actions must be taken, diverse geographical locations presentproblems. Corrective action is a major concern because system-widechanges in a large network can be extremely difficult, time-consuming,and expensive. The proxy 700 provides an effective solution to suchissues. Furthermore, the proxy 700 can do so in a transparent manner.

FIG. 4A illustrates a geographic map of Europe in which various open APIservers 104 are distributed throughout the continent. All of those openAPI servers are managed by the same proxy 700. It should be understoodthat the proxy 700 does not have to be a single entity, but may becomprised of a network of interconnected devices, systems, and networksthat cooperatively form the proxy 700. Centrally managing that proxy 700is greatly simplifies system wide changes since those changes can bepromulgated by the proxy 700.

FIG. 4B illustrates how the proxy 700 becoming the central entity. Atstep 505, the proxy 700 accepts registrations and de-registrations fromthe open API servers 104. At step 507, the proxy 700 determines theservice capabilities of all of the open API servers 104, and thendetermines a superset of those capabilities. The proxy 700 subsequentlyregisters this superset with all known registration and discoverydevices 114. By acting as a central registration point, the proxy 700becomes aware of the status of all open API servers 104, registrationand discovery devices 114, and applications in the open API network.This enables the proxy 700 to act as the manager and integrator of theoverall system.

FIG. 4C illustrates one method 301 of how the proxy 700 can manage andintegrate the system. As shown, the method 301 starts at step 303 andproceeds at step 315 by monitoring the operation of the complete openAPI system. At step 317, if the open API system 200 is determined to befunctioning correctly, the method returns to step 315, therebycontinuing to monitor the overall operation. However, if at step 317 ananomaly is detected, the proxy 700 proceeds to step 319 whereappropriate corrective action is taken. Appropriate actions can includere-starting a registration and discovery device 114, informingapplications 102 of problems detected in the network, and/orre-assigning start conditions to open API servers 104 when they becomeactive again. Note that informing the applications 102 of anomaliescould be delayed or not executed if the proxy finds alternative open APIservers 104 to guarantee the integrity of the open API system 200.

One important corrective action that the proxy can take is to act as afirewall to prevent inappropriate or dangerous APIs from propagatingthrough the open API system. This becomes especially valid if aregistration and discovery device 114 operates within the domain of aforeign network operator that wants to open its network resources forthird parties that could develop APIs that could cause localized orsystem-wide breakdowns. Having the proxy 700 act as a filter to blocksuch APIs is particularly beneficial.

As discussed above, the proxy 700 is aware of the other open API systementities and can directly assign a specific open API server 104 to aspecific application 102, not only initially, but dynamically.Assignments can be changed to reflect network conditions, such asadditions of applications 102 and open API servers 104, or as a resultof system failures. This dynamic assignment capability significantlyincreases network availability.

While the foregoing may suggest that all communications between theapplications 102 and the open API servers 104 pass through the proxy700, such is not required. FIG. 5 illustrates an open API system 400 inwhich certain API calls by pass the proxy 700 and run directly betweenopen API server 104 b and application 102 b. As shown, a specific call,designated IpCall, is communicated directly on lines 401. However, otherAPI calls are handled by the proxy 700. Direct routing can prevent theproxy 700 from acting as a performance bottleneck.

FIG. 5 also illustrates software (or hardware) processes performed bythe proxy 700. Such includes service contract software 402 that handlesthe previously described service contracts, load-balancing software 404that balances communication loads between the open API servers 104 andthe various applications 102, management software 406 that manages theopen API entities as previously described, and an event dispatcher 408that controls the dispatch of the various API calls between the open APIservers 104 and the applications. For completeness, FIG. 5 also showsthe registration and discovery device 114 and the database 204.

If properly configured, the proxy 700 is transparent: an open API server104 need not know that it is communicating through the proxy 700, and anapplication 102, need not know it is communication through the proxy700, except possibly while initially registering. The proxy 700 canprovide proper start-up conditions, decide which competing applicationreceives an event if several applications are available (act as atraffic cop), introduce delays in forwarding events to avoid potentialproblems, provide central management functions, implement servicecontracts, hide the network, choose to relay outstanding or new requeststo other resources (thus increasing network availability), act as afirewall to maintain the integrity of the system, gather informationfrom multiple resources and distribute the information as requiredand/or at the right time, ease system-wide changes and theirintegration, and centrally monitor applications 102 and open API servers104.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A system, comprising: a telecommunication network; an open API serverfor sending and receiving application programming interface commands onsaid telecommunication network; and a proxy for receiving saidapplication programming interface commands from said open API server andfor selectively sending said application programming interface commandsto one of a first application or a second application; wherein saidproxy monitors the status of the system; wherein said proxy dynamicallyselects the one of said first application or second application based onthe status of the system.
 2. The system according to claim 1, whereinsaid proxy changes its selection based on a change to the system.
 3. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein said proxy is transparent to saidopen API server.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said proxyis transparent to said selected application.
 5. The system according toclaim 1, wherein said proxy includes input/output circuitry, a memory,and a processor.
 6. The system according to claim 1, further including acomputer readable media for storing program information that at leastpartially controls the selection.
 7. The system according to claim 1,wherein said open API server is adapted to bypasses said proxy and sendsanother application programming interface command directly to one of aplurality of applications so as to prevent the proxy from being acommunication bottleneck.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein atleast one other application bypasses said proxy and sends anotherapplication programming interface command directly to said open APIserver or another open API server.
 9. The system according to claim 1,wherein said proxy blocks at least a portion of said applicationprogramming interface commands from propagating.
 10. A method ofoperating a telecommunication network, comprising: receiving applicationprogramming interface commands from an open API server; monitoring thestatus of the telecommunication network; and selectively passing saidapplication programming interface commands received from the open APIserver to a first application or a second application, wherein the firstapplication or the second application to which said applicationprogramming interface commands are passed is dynamically selected basedon the status of the telecommunication network.